Music (World/folk): South American Music

Local traits were evident in popular music dating back to the colonial period in the various regions of Latin America. The presence of African slaves in the Spanish Caribbean resulted in the emergence of distinct musical styles that merged tropical sounds with African rhythms (see slavery). Popular Caribbean music was generally accompanied by a dance style, and forms such as the mambo and the contradanza emerged in the 19th century and became predecessors to the salsa genre of the 20th century. A similar evolution in popular music occurred along the Caribbean coast of northern South America, which was a main point of entry for African slaves into the Spanish mainland. Cumbia music and dance developed first in present-day Colombia as a fusion of African sounds and native instruments. Because of its African and indigenous roots, cumbia was long considered the music of the poor and lower classes. Versions of cumbia spread to other South American countries.

Brazil also witnessed an amalgamation of African, indigenous, and European musical and dance styles throughout the colonial period and during the 19th century. Brazilian plantation owners imported African slaves whose musical traditions merged with local styles. Hybrid musical forms and accompanying dances were incorporated into religious practices in those communities, despite elite attempts to curtail their popularity. By the 19th century, the predecessor to samba had emerged as both a musical style and a seductive dance. By the end of the century, many urban elite had embraced the distinctly Brazilian music, and samba eventually became part of carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere.